Ranking the Gopher players

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point guard 10

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I was telling my friend, who has never watched a gopher basketball game in his life, about the team this year, and the topic of the best player came up. I told him who I thought it was (Rodney), and he said "ok, who's second?" I told him. "Third? Fourth?" This continued for a little bit, and soon he just asked me to rank them from 1-15. It was A LOT harder than I thought it would be! Here's what I came up with...

1. Rodney Williams
2. Andre Hollins
3. Trevor Mbakwe
4. Austin Hollins
5. Joe Coleman
6. Elliott Eliason
7. Julian Welch
8. Mo Walker
9. Charles Buggs
10. Wally Ellenson
11. Andre Ingram
12. Maverick Ahanmisi
13. Oto Osenieks
14. Chris Halvorsen
15. Kendal shell
 

Now that you think about it, this is extremely difficult. Are we talking strictly based on value to the team or by statistics? I guess that is up for interpretation. Here's mine. I based it on value to the team (Who we can't afford to lose) since it seems like you went with pure statistics (at least for your top 3) so I'll switch it up a little:

1. Andre Hollins
2. Rodney Williams
3. Austin Hollins
4. Joe Coleman
5. Trevor Mbakwe
6. Julian Welch
7. Elliot Eliason
8. Mo Walker
9. Maverick Ahanmisi
10. Andre Ingram
11. Oto Osenieks
12. Wally Ellenson
13. Chris Halvorsen
14. Kendal Shell
15. Charles Buggs

I think the lack of a back-up to Joe Coleman ups his value a lot. I put Charles Buggs at the end of the list since he won't be playing, and Wally is towards the bottom as we haven't seen him play yet. The depth in our front court drops Ingram's value to me. Andre Hollins goes 1 in my opinion because this offense would be non-existent without him. Although 1 and 2 are practically irreversible to me. Trevor's value is lower now than it might be in the future but at this stage in his recovery he comes in at 5. So there you have it.

To me you can split it into 3 tiers:

1-5 are absolutely vital to the success of this team.
6-10 are important role players
11-15 make no impact (this year)
 

1)Rodney - He's really continued his improvement from last March. Very pleased with his progress so far this season.
2)Mbakwe - Could take #1 spot by March.
3)Austin Hollins - makes great decisions with the ball and plays solid defense.
4)Andre Hollins - MUST take better care of the basketball and limit the turnovers. At times he can be very careless and dribble his way into traps.
5)Joe Coleman - He's really improved his shot and gives us an aggressive, take it to the rim kinda player...Turnovers are a huge problem though.
6)Eliason - He's done a great job defensively in the last 2 games and really scraps for rebounds. Must improve his low post game and FT Shooting.
7)Welch - Solid shooter when left open. Put a defender within 5 feet and he struggles. A little careless with the ball at times and a slow defender but valuable for offense.
8)Ahanmisi - He's really improved his shooting this year and done reasonably well with the ball in his hands.
9)Mo Walker - Looks great against minnows like North Florida, but still looks agonizingly slow against legit Div 1 teams.
10)Ingram - Solid work rate and physicality make him a nice reserve on those days when EE or Mbakwe get in foul trouble.
11)Oto - 0 for 13 from distance and plays with no control. Has a chance to improve and MUST use the next blowout games to get his shot back or will be lost in 12th man role.
12)Halvorsen - INC
13)Buggs - INC
14)Shell - INC
15)Ellenson - INC
 

Went with current players....didn't list red shirt guys.

1. Rodney Williams
2. Trevor Mbakwe
3. Andre Hollins
4. Austin Hollins
5. Joe Coleman
6. Elliott Eliason
7. Mo Walker
8. Andre Ingram
9. Julian Welch
10. Maverick Ahanmisi
11. Oto Osenieks
12. Chris Halvorsen
13. Kendal shell
 

1. Rodney Williams
2. Austin Hollins
3. Andre Hollins
4. Trevor Mbakwe
5. Joe Coleman
6. Elliot Eliason
7. Julian Welch
8. Maverick Ahanmisi
9. Mo Walker
10. Andre Ingram
11. Wally Ellenson
12. Charles Buggs
13. Oto Oseniks
14. Chris Halvorsen
15. Kendall Shell
 


1-3 Dre Hollins (as he goes -so will the team)
4 Austin
5. Rodney
6. Joe
7. Trevor
8. Eliot
9. Julian
10. Mav
 

Amazes me that people rank players they've never seen play ahead of guys with 2-3 years in the system.
 

1. Andre Hollins (whoever runs the point is the key to success)
2. Austin Hollins (in Tubby's system, defense drives offense)
3. Rodney Williams (sometimes seems dumb as a post, but he's a freak athlete)
4. Trevor Mbakwe (toughest player on the team)
5. Joe Coleman (undersized and a turnover machine, but also can keep the team from being lethargic)
6. Elliot Eliason (still needs to toughen up)
7. Julian Welch (thought he'd be better than he is)
8. Andre Ingram (scrappy player who makes the most of his abilities)
9. Mo Walker (needs to get into shape)
10. Oto Osenieks (paralysis by analysis - the kid needs to stop tweaking and just play)
11. Maverick Ahanmisi (good in spurts under 5 minutes but after that his flaws are terribly exposed)
12. Kendal Shell (reminds me of Hosea Crittenden) (love to see him play his band instrument on the side lines :) )
13. Chris Halvorsen (perfect teammate)
14. Wally Ellenson (RS)
15. Charles Buggs (RS)
 

I'd have Austin #1

As good as some other guys have been, from what I've seen Austin Hollins has been the Gophers' best player so far this season. That's saying something because Williams and 'Dre Hollins have been very good.

I'm not a NBA guy at all, but am I the only one thinking Austin has a chance to spend some time in the League? He does a lot of stuff, he defends, he can shoot a little bit, he's got the bloodlines. ... if Austin can become a better ball-handler over hist last 2 seasons?
 



SelectionSunday said:
As good as some other guys have been, from what I've seen Austin Hollins has been the Gophers' best player so far this season. That's saying something because Williams and 'Dre Hollins have been very good.

I'm not a NBA guy at all, but am I the only one thinking Austin has a chance to spend some time in the League? He does a lot of stuff, he defends, he can shoot a little bit, he's got the bloodlines. ... if Austin can become a better ball-handler over hist last 2 seasons?
Click to expand...

Austin will get paid to play after he leaves the U. His reputation and family connections will open some doors for him, but his play will keep him getting paid, whether NBA or international. He can play and he is low maintenance, a critically important combination for non-super stars at the professional level.
 

1. Rodney Williams
2. Andre hollins
3. Austin hollins
4. Trevor Mbakwe
5. Joe Coleman
6. Elliot Eliason
7. Mav Ahanmisi
8. Julian Welch
9. Mo Walker
10. Andre Ingram
11. Oto oseniks

The rest are non factors this year
 

Hoops IQ & family connections

Holy Man said:
Austin will get paid to play after he leaves the U. His reputation and family connections will open some doors for him, but his play will keep him getting paid, whether NBA or international. He can play and he is low maintenance, a critically important combination for non-super stars at the professional level.
Click to expand...

I'd guess he will be a coach somewhere after he is done playing pro ball.
 

I'm surprised at how many people have Julian ahead of Mav. Julian has been a gong show so far this year, and I think Mav has given us some very serviceable backup minutes. I think Mav's shooting consistency from 3 has really helped because, if nothing else, it forces other teams to commit a defender to him to prevent him from being able to plant, catch, and shoot.

I'd have trouble deciding between Austin and Dr. Dre up at #1. It is tough to compare the two, Austin adds a lot in a lot of areas, and Andre adds a lot more in a few less areas.
 



bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I'm surprised at how many people have Julian ahead of Mav. Julian has been a gong show so far this year, and I think Mav has given us some very serviceable backup minutes. I think Mav's shooting consistency from 3 has really helped because, if nothing else, it forces other teams to commit a defender to him to prevent him from being able to plant, catch, and shoot.

I'd have trouble deciding between Austin and Dr. Dre up at #1. It is tough to compare the two, Austin adds a lot in a lot of areas, and Andre adds a lot more in a few less areas.
Click to expand...

I completely agree on all accounts, though I'd probably lean a little more toward Austin over Andre.
 

This is tough...but if we are going to consider who, if lost, would have the greatest impact...here is my list.

1. Dre Hollins (Can't lose)
2. Rodney (Heart of this team)
3. Austin Hollins (Can't replace his scoring or defense if he goes down)
4. Mav ( You can hate all you want, Dre gets into foul trouble often and Mav is the only other guard on this team that can run the offense. Welch is playing hurt and can't run the offense when healthy)
5. Trevor Mbakwe (Ingram is quality back up)
6. EE (Big Mo could step in and be quality replacement)
7. Joe C. (We can replace his scoring if need be)
8. Ingram (Really improved over last year...but still only 3rd at his position with Mbakwe back)
9. Oto
10. Big Mo (We can live without his minutes this year...unless we have injuries. Next year - different story)
 

This is my list, minus RS and Walk ons.

1) Andre Hollins
2) Rodney Williams
3) Austin Hollins
4) Joe Coleman
5) Trevor Mbakwe
6) Andre Ingram
7) Elliot Eliason
8) Maverick Ahanmisi
9) Julian Welch
10) Oto Osenieks
11) Mo Walker
 

nice

point guard 10 said:
I was telling my friend, who has never watched a gopher basketball game in his life, about the team this year, and the topic of the best player came up. I told him who I thought it was (Rodney), and he said "ok, who's second?" I told him. "Third? Fourth?" This continued for a little bit, and soon he just asked me to rank them from 1-15. It was A LOT harder than I thought it would be! Here's what I came up with...

1. Rodney Williams
2. Andre Hollins
3. Trevor Mbakwe
4. Austin Hollins
5. Joe Coleman
6. Elliott Eliason
7. Julian Welch
8. Mo Walker
9. Charles Buggs
10. Wally Ellenson
11. Andre Ingram
12. Maverick Ahanmisi
13. Oto Osenieks
14. Chris Halvorsen
15. Kendal shell
Click to expand...

i'd say you did a great job ranking them!.... i might move up Mo Walker a notch (but he is still a show me story) other than switching Mo and Julian... my list would be identical to yours
 

My rankings excluding walk-ons and RS. Also, this is based on purely skill, not value to the team.

TIER 1
1. Rodney Williams
2. Trevor Mbakwe
3. Andre Hollins

TIER 2
4. Austin Hollins

TIER 3
5. Joe Coleman
6. Elliott Eliason
7. Julian Welch
8. Mo Walker

TIER 4
9. Mav Ahanmisi
10. Andre Ingram
11. Oto Osenieks
 

It amazes me how quickly our fans forget what it is like to have a team with out a point gaurd. Putting Mav in the bottom 3 or 4 is crazy talk. I guarantee you that if Dre goes down...our only chance of survival is Mav.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
It amazes me how quickly our fans forget what it is like to have a team with out a point gaurd. Putting Mav in the bottom 3 or 4 is crazy talk. I guarantee you that if Dre goes down...our only chance of survival is Mav.
Click to expand...

If Mav is our backup then pull out the shovel and start digging...
 

SelectionSunday said:
I'm not a NBA guy at all, but am I the only one thinking Austin has a chance to spend some time in the League? He does a lot of stuff, he defends, he can shoot a little bit, he's got the bloodlines. ... if Austin can become a better ball-handler over hist last 2 seasons?
Click to expand...

I think Austin needs to gain weight/strength and improve his ball handling. He tends to dissappear against more physical teams. He has an NBA skill... defense, he can guard sg's at that level, smaller ones at least. I doubt he would ever start but i could see him making a 12 person team. He is probably 6'5" in shoes. A poor man's jeremy Lamb?
 


tinyarch said:
If Mav is our backup then pull out the shovel and start digging...
Click to expand...

I say this as a nod to Mav, not as a knock on Dre, but I think if Dre went down we could weather the storm with Maverick running the point. I would probably adjust my projection down from the Sweet 16 to a two-and-out performance, but I think that if Trevor continues to progress back to pre-tear form, a lineup with Austin-Coleman-Rodney-Trevor in it is fairly potent. We would get less scoring from the point, but it is easy to distribute the ball "well enough" when you have four options like Mav would have, and Mav's improved 3 point shot would not allow him to go unmarked and would keep space open for the other guys. Losing Andre would really hurt, but I don't think it would be near the blow Nolen and Devoe's absence was. Andre is obviously better than those two, but I think present day Mav makes for a much better safety net than the tandem of freshman Mav/Hoffarber.
 

march madness said:
I think Austin needs to gain weight/strength and improve his ball handling. He tends to dissappear against more physical teams. He has an NBA skill... defense, he can guard sg's at that level, smaller ones at least. I doubt he would ever start but i could see him making a 12 person team. He is probably 6'5" in shoes. A poor man's jeremy Lamb?
Click to expand...

As for as the best players for Minnesota, I'd say Austin Hollins is the best team player, not individual player but he doesn't do anything bad and everything well. He could be that Bruce Bowen type of player except he's a bit shorter. I could see him filling an nba role such as that though. Play great D and hit the open corner 3 pointer.

Rodney has the most Athletic ability will definetly be in the NBA, Mbakwe is the toughest and a beast of a rebounder will be in the NBA. Dre has the most upside right now, I could see him being really really good and he's got the work ethic to get it done, think Kemba Walker. Relentless motor, good shooter and a hard worker. Ball handling, ball handling ball handling is all that is holding him back. A bit more strength wouldn't hurt him though. As for the rest of the team, it has to be Coleman, EE, Welch, Mav, Mo and Ingram.
 

Holy Man said:
Austin will get paid to play after he leaves the U. His reputation and family connections will open some doors for him, but his play will keep him getting paid, whether NBA or international. He can play and he is low maintenance, a critically important combination for non-super stars at the professional level.
Click to expand...

If he wants to play in the nba he better get a better handle on the ball. He still is a poor ball handler at best. That said, he still is the best overall player on the team imo. He is the best mid-range shooter. One of the best long range shooters. Good finisher. Good rebounder. O.K. passer at times. Good shot blocker. Great steal guy. Really good man on man defender. Stat stuffer for sure.
 

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